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Not a single trace of information could be found on Suehiro Tecchou on the internet save for an occasional picture of him on the studio’s Instagram page.
No tag was present to indicate a personal profile on those posts either, meaning that either the man has a very private account reserved for his trusted friends, or he doesn’t have an account at all.
All that was present was a link on the account that opened the studio’s website which then had each artist’s portfolios and professional emails. Tecchou’s was there of course, but it was a professional email and not something that Teruko could stalk.
Four months had passed and Teruko was still persistent on finding even a shred of, said and Jouno quotes, “tea”, on his piercer. Jouno did not know when or why she had suddenly harboured such interest in a man she barely met for fifteen minutes, but she was set on finding anything, even if it was something as trivial as him standing in the background of a photo not even looking.
So far, she’s discovered a handful of things that she informed Jouno of:
Suehiro Tecchou is twenty six years old, he has a bachelor’s degree in graphic designing, a master’s in business management, he’s been working in the same studio for over ten years (a point of concern for Teruko) and can do various types and styles of tattoos, most of which Teruko didn’t bother remembering. Apart from that, she went as far as to stalk the accounts of the other employees of the studio in hopes of getting a glimpse of ‘mr. mystery man’ on there, which she did.
He was frequently seen in a few pictures on the receptionist guy’s account— Tachihara Michizou; there was one where their little group is out for coffee in which Tecchou sits aloof across the photographer glaring directly into the camera with his sharp, amber eyes whilst he sips from a cup, though that could just be his face since it seemed to be a recurring theme in every natural photo, Teruko had theorised.
In another, he’s half sitting on a stool that allowed him to somewhat bend his long long legs as one of his hands lay flat over his thigh, displaying the variety of black and silver rings on his long slender fingers and the tattoos creeping up his wrist. He’s blankly looking to his side in the picture— as if he were caught off guard— at a very heavily tattooed woman who is, firstly, very short in comparison to the man next to her as while Tecchou’s legs are considerably bent, her feet barely reach the ground, and secondly, smiling at someone or something that isn’t in the frame.
Jouno is lowkey grateful that Teruko is impeccable with her descriptions.
Interestingly enough, she wasn’t the only one who wanted information on Tecchou, since on each post about him, there are people in the comments fawning over him and demanding they spill his socials too and even go as far as saying insanely obscene things about the man, all of which were ignored by the account’s admin. Of course, Teruko wouldn’t publicly display her desperation like them.
Other than pictures of him hunched over random bodies punching ink into them with a few in which he’s half-heartedly smiling into the camera in front of the studio’s logo, there wasn’t much of anything worth gossiping over. Teruko was bummed that she couldn’t find a shirtless picture of the guy since he apparently seemed like a guy who works out for a living. Upon this, Jouno threw the remnant water in his cup at her to berate her for being such a pervert.
Tecchou didn’t even have a personal facebook or a twitter like the rest of his coworkers.
From what Teruko had gathered, Tecchou usually has a monochromatic wardrobe and, in her humble opinion, looks dashing in white t-shirts as the colour accentuates the art underneath.
Even though Jouno feigned disinterest in the entire matter, he did not stop the girl from letting him in on her research and even suspected that Teruko had developed yet another crush. When he asked her why she was so keen on finding out everything about that man, she simply laughed and told Jouno that it was for him.
Teruko did not elaborate when asked what that meant. Jouno regretted ever telling her about the night he rode back with Tecchou.
—x—
Jouno is more of a tea person than a coffee person, but he wouldn’t mind a latte from time to time.
He’s on his end semester break so he decided to meet up with a few friends at the cafe not far from where he lives, covered in at least four layers of clothing to keep himself insulated excluding the pale beanie and scarf wrapped around his neck.
He’s already inside so once he was warm enough, he decided to shed the fitted navy blue coat and spread it out behind him on the plush sofa, peeling his gloves off so he may get the full experience of burning his hands against his incoming coffee cup.
“Oi, Jouno,” Teruko says across from him, too engrossed in whatever she’s watching on her phone to even look up at him, “I want a fruitcake.”
“Good for you.”
This prompts her to look up, raising a single brow. “Get me a fruitcake.”
“On whose wallet.”
Teruko stares at him in disbelief for a solid five seconds before she fishes out the money from her pocket, quite literally throwing the crumpled notes at Jouno’s chest and sinking back in her seat as he huffs in amusement and rises to his feet.
Jouno is accustomed enough to this particular cafe to navigate around comfortably without his cane, dodging around a few familiar corners at which he made the mistake of hurting himself in the past and walks his way to the bar, slipping in between two stools at the counter to catch the waiter’s attention.
This particular cafe isn’t very popular, since the only customers they get are either regular locals who spend their weekends away in the ambient library (which Teruko is promptly hogging at the moment) or tourists just passing by. Seemingly, even without the rush and customers, their business seems to be doing fine. Jouno would rather not ask his friend behind the counter the reason since not asking about it seems to be an unspoken rule.
He silently waits for the worker to notice his anticipating form. While he does so, he catches a faint whiff of a cologne he swears he’s smelled before, nose twitching in curiosity as he now takes a deeper inhale to get a better sense of the woodsy fragrance, slightly turning his head in the direction of the scent till—
“Oh, hey you.” The familiar depth of the voice that interrupts Jouno’s sniffing makes him freeze where he stands, eyelids flickering in surprise as his mouth slightly parts.
Jouno wonders if who he heard is who he thinks it is and suddenly begins to doubt his very sharp and experienced hearing.
“Hi?” Jouno replies lamely, tilting his head and already mentally pulling at his hair. He figures that in his panicked trance, he might as well double check.
“I’m beginning to think you don’t recognise me,” The undertone of disappointment doesn't miss Jouno's ears and he scoffs. How could I not recognise that voice?
“I wouldn’t lose hope that quick, Tecchou-san.” Tecchou rewards this statement with a breathy chuckle. Somehow, even after months of not meeting him, Jouno still feels the coiling in his gut at the sonorous sound of his laughter.
“What makes you think I lost hope?” From the volume of his voice, Jouno can guess that Tecchou is sitting at least three stools away from him and has something held against his mouth, judging from the slight muffle that softens his tone. Probably a drink or something.
“I’m not sure, you sounded pretty disappointed.” Jouno shrugs and half sits on the stool behind him to balance himself and correct the awkward stance of his body, planting his elbow against the edge of the counter as he smiles slyly at Tecchou.
“I would have been,” Tecchou offers plainly and takes a sip from his drink, glancing at the sudden shift in Jouno’s expression from over the rim of his cup with a lazy smile.
Tecchou shamelessly lets his eyes survey Jouno’s figure as he tilts his head in confusion at him, eyebrows and eyes narrowing to give him that adorable cat-like look that he once made back in the studio. It’s a wonder Tecchou still remembers something like that, and it’s an even bigger wonder that he also recognises the slight fade in the red dye at the tips of his hair, now giving it a more pinkish hue than the darker red from before.
Jouno oddly fits the homely aesthetic of this little cafe and Tecchou can’t stop staring.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.” Tecchou says with a shrug and Jouno reluctantly accepts the non-answer, loosely fiddling with his outgrown nails that he needs to get manicured. “So, what brings you here?”
It’s a pathetic attempt at making conversation, honestly, and normally Tecchou would never approach clients he’s worked with before if he were to spot and recognise them in public, but Jouno has miraculously piqued his interest and he doesn’t know or understand why.
“Fruitcake?” Jouno says with a jut to his lip, casually waving a hand at the counter like the answer was obvious. Tecchou chuckles again, filling the air between them with that soft and low melody and twists his body a bit to face Jouno directly. “What? Why’re you laughing?”
“I mean at this cafe.”
“Oh.” Jouno’s mouth clicks shut, a tinge of pink making home at his cheeks as he fiddles with the hem of his pale sweater. “Well, I do wonder why people go to cafes, I just like the fruitcakes if I’m being honest.” A shrug enunciates his very apparent sarcasm, the exaggeration being deliberate lest Jouno come off as rude in his musings.
Tecchou showing any reaction to being humoured is a rare phenomenon in and of itself, yet Jouno doesn’t find his quiet laughter odd since he’s been doing that quite frequently around him.
“What brings you here? Brood around in cafes often?”
“I just like the coffee.” Tecchou says with as much sarcasm as he can as he throws Jouno’s words back at him, slightly tilting the cup in his hand to emphasise his point. The impact of the statement is duller than Jouno’s, but he gets the idea.
Tecchou’s eyes falter and shift to Jouno’s ears, eyebrows pinching together in concentration as he tries to get a better sight of what he suspects he saw. Jouno shifts in discomfort at the sudden silence, sensing the weight of those eyes on him, swallowing dryly and nearly asking him what he’s looking at but he’s beaten to the punch.
“What happened to your piercing?” Jouno tenses up at the slight tone of accusation in Tecchou’s otherwise monotonous tone of voice, instinctively bringing one hand up to feel the now empty ear with a sheepish little grin.
“It got infected.” He truthfully answers, shrugging and hoping it comes out believable, since his piercer was present during the quarrel he had with Teruko over wanting just one ear done. The prospect of Jouno claiming just one of his ears got infected while the other remained perfectly intact? More likely than one would think.
But unfortunately for Jouno, he is telling the truth, and he can almost visualise the utter look of disbelief on Tecchou’s face as he stares back at him half in concern and half in offence.
“Why didn’t you come to me, then?”
“I…honestly forgot about that part— and it wasn’t my fault! I have a very clingy cat,” Despite Jouno’s explanation, the dissatisfaction from Tecchou’s face doesn’t go away and it’s evident in the way he speaks.
“Infections aren’t to be taken lightly, Jouno-san. They can cause serious health or skin issues if not treated by a professional.” The robotic way in which he just narrates that statement just sours Jouno’s comfort and he can’t help but squirm under the subtle scolding, and from the gentle call of his name from Suehiro’s pierced tongue.
So, as a self-defense strategy— the only strategy that keeps Jouno in his safe zone— to not look like a fool, he frowns and loosely crosses his arms and slightly puffs out his chest in retaliation.
“But I’m perfectly okay, Tecchou-san.” He’s being stubborn, he’s aware. He acknowledges he’s wrong, but he has more pride than outright admitting it.
Well, the infection didn’t get that bad and would have been easily treated if he had visited his piercer like he was told to. But he wasn’t going to do that for two reasons,
Reason number one being the absolute shit experience he had the last time he went there. None of that was the studio’s or his piercer’s fault— in fact, Tecchou might as well have been his saving grace that night.
And reason number two being that when he thought back on that strangely intimate interaction between them, he would not stop blushing like a schoolgirl and was absolutely disgusted by how easily flustered he'd become at the thoughts of Suehiro.
In conclusion, Jouno Saigiku was shy.
“Yeah, and thank god for that, but it isn’t worth the risk of your well-being.” The sound of something clanking against the marble of the counter make Jouno’s ear twitch and he can’t help but shrink under the call-out even if it’s the most polite call-out he's ever heard. He hates that he blushes under the reprimand so easily and attempts to hide his face by turning to the side and biting his tongue.
“Why do you care?” That’s a very stupid question to ask, in retrospect, but Jouno is out of excuses to outreason Tecchou’s justified disappointment. He feels like he lost, for some reason.
Tecchou huffs a chuckle at the question and at Jouno’s embarrassed expression, tapping a single black nail against the handle of his mug.
“You walking around with an infected piercing gives a bad name to our studio, doll,” The hitch in Jouno’s breath would have been audible if the sound of someone’s seat screeching against the hardwood flooring didn’t drown it out, cheeks reddening impossibly more and all the way up till the tips of his ears. He feels the heat rise in a dangerous tremor that forces him to sit upright, stomach coiling at the familiar pet-name, “and we care about our clientele, believe it or not.”
Jouno’s so embarrassed that he lets out a croak when he first opens his mouth to retort, utterly offended that he was ever driven into such a hostile standing in the first place to lose his sense of self like this.
“I thought I told you to stop calling me that.” He can’t hide his face anywhere and can feel the slight smug aura off of Tecchou even from a few feet away. There isn’t much else he can say to that, and he hates every second of feeling like he lost to a man who didn’t even try.
“How about this: you contact me the next time you have a problem with your piercings, alright? Give me your phone.” Just like before, Tecchou ignores Jouno’s request and holds his palm out expectantly, watching the amusing chain of reactions he’s managed to induce in the man for the past few minutes.
Jouno takes the precaution of clearing his throat before speaking this time, “why?”
“If you’re too lazy to come up to the studio, then just call or text me, whatever you prefer.”
Tecchou toys with the ring on the corner of his lip while he watches him consider the idea, the wheels slowly turning in his head as he eventually uncrosses his arms and digs his hand into his pocket to fish out his phone, wordlessly unlocking it and opening the keypad.
Once again, Tecchou has absolutely zero clue about what the text-to-speech bot is narrating back to Jouno due to its really fast speed, but he doesn’t question it if it's curated to Jouno's needs. He flexes his fingers into his palm when Jouno places his phone flat against the counter and slides it in Tecchou’s direction, not knowing he had his hand outstretched in the first place.
“Double tap the keys to put the numbers in.” Jouno simply instructs and sniffs softly, nothing more than just to fill the silence between them for a while.
It’s fairly easy to do that, Tecchou concludes once he’s done and hands Jouno his phone back, allowing him to finish up the rest of the process and looks down into the blackness of his coffee, catching the morphed reflection of himself in it… smiling.
The sight catches him off guard which makes his expression melt back into his resting face, the bitter scent of the coffee tingling his nostrils as he brings his mug up to his mouth again. He turns to Jouno who’s far too immersed in whatever he’s doing on his phone to notice the look he’s being graced with.
“Jouno-san.”
“Yes?” His head snaps back up, making his bangs fall over his gentle eyes which are so very expressive despite being shut.
“May I see your other ear?”
“Why, wanna nitpick something out of that too?”
“What if there is something to nitpick?”
“Your lack of faith flatters me, really.”
Jouno moves the beanie out of the way and holds his hair away from his ear to give Tecchou a clear view of his piercing, turning his head and swallowing thickly at the sound of Tecchou’s stool creaking, indicating that he has moved closer to inspect his work.
Suehiro hums contently after a few seconds, making Jouno think that he’s probably satisfied with what he saw, but god is he wrong.
The slight tickle at the shell of his ear makes him jolt in surprise, cringing away from whatever touched him without warning. He soon realises that it was no one other than Tecchou, the realisation urging him to gradually sit back up with a mumbled apology.
He tries so hard not to shiver from the contact as Tecchou’s fingertips trace the outline of his earlobe, experienced eyes trying to find god knows what fault in Jouno’s flawless aftercare routine that he’d followed up to the advised time frame.
“This one healed up perfectly, good job.” It’s hard not to preen under the praise as Tecchou retracts his hand, the loss of contact making Jouno’s ear tingle.
Suehiro has managed to induce quite the range of emotions from Jouno this fine afternoon— it’s done nothing but confuse him and make him question everything he’s known since it’s so very uncharacteristic for someone like Jouno to lose their composure from a simple compliment.
“Tecchou-san, please stop flirting with my customers.” The girl behind the counter chimes in politely, yet Jouno still blushes furiously at the statement.
…flirting?
“Customer,” Tecchou corrects casually, making Jouno pull his head back in confusion while he readjusts his hair and beanie.
Is that the only thing he’s correcting?
“Well, Jouno, what can I get for you?” She rolls her eyes at the tattooed man and lends Jouno her attention, not seemingly bothered by Tecchou’s cheekiness.
“Uh,” truly, he hates feeling like he just experienced a social realignment, though he doubts he did— since Tecchou is the only person who has ever managed to make Jouno fumble over his words like this.
“Fruitcakes.” Tecchou pipes in with a lopsided smile, “he’s here for fruitcakes.”
“Ah, well, coming right up. I’m assuming they’re for Teruko, yes?”
“Yeah, yes, they’re for her—”
“Are you making the damn cake, Jouno?” Speak of the devil and she shall arrive.
Jouno doesn’t know if his current situation can get any worse now, since Teruko will never shut up about what she’s about to witness or let him live it down ever.
He can practically see Teruko’s face morphing into a pleasantly surprised expression with a curious ‘oh’ falling from her pursed lips as her rosy eyes shift between Jouno and Tecchou. Jouno has to hide his face behind his palm now to hide his embarrassment, turning away from both of them to save the little bit of grace he has left.
He flushes a deeper red when he remembers that she stalked the entire fucking internet not too long ago trying to get information on the very man that sits in front of them right now, the sudden fear of Teruko somehow slipping up and spilling overtaking his senses as he whips around to glare as menacingly as he can at her.
Naturally, she sees and ignores the warning look she receives.
“Hello there, Suehiro-san.” She offers an excited wave and comes up to stand next to Jouno, swinging her arm over one of his shoulders that he immediately shrugs off. “What a pleasant surprise it is to see you here,”
Jouno is so glad that Tecchou is clueless of why Teruko sounds so satisfied as he nods back in greeting, occasionally shifting his gaze back to Jouno.
“Is this what took you so long?” She nudges Jouno’s side with her elbow, a slight teasing edge in her voice.
“Shut up.”
“I’m sorry I kept him occupied, I didn’t realise you were waiting for him.” Tecchou, bless him, pipes up on behalf of Jouno, but it only adds fuel to the fire Teruko is so set on starting.
“That’s not a problem! You can borrow him for as long as you’d like,” Teruko casually waves him off, ignoring the utter look of disbelief that overtakes her friend’s face.
“Since when do you have a say in that?”
“Since I found out where he lives.”
Jouno’s eyes nearly shoot open at the statement he prays Tecchou didn’t catch, elbowing Teruko hard in her ribs that make her double over with a cough.
Tecchou watches them in amusement as he sips his coffee, the continued fighting reminding him of the first time he’d met Jouno the same way.
“Here you go, Teruko.” Thankfully, Teruko’s fruitcake arrives and save Jouno any further embarrassment in front of Suehiro— he’s already done enough of that for himself.
“Thank you, Tsujimura-san—”
“I’ll be taking my leave now, Mizuki,” Tecchou suddenly speaks up and softly clanks his mug down, rising to his feet and standing tall as he smiles at the worker, “thanks for the coffee.” He taps the side of the mug and steps back, turning his head to look down on Jouno who looks like he got caught off guard by Tecchou’s sudden announcement.
How cute.
“Oh, so soon?” Tsujimura tilts her head as she takes Tecchou’s mug off the counter.
“I’ve got errands,” He shrugs, readjusting his jacket around his shoulders and passing a gentle smile to Jouno while he does so. “See you later, and do consider my offer, Jouno-san.”
“Will do.” Jouno ignores the suspicious look Teruko passes him and wiggles his fingers as a gesture of goodbye.
Once Tecchou is out of the cafe after promising Tsujimura his return, Jouno begrudgingly readies himself for a plethora of questions from Teruko he has zero interest in answering.